


Hello, Stranger

by Ellie_Elizabeth



Series: The Misadventures Of Dad-stiel [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baby Claire - Freeform, Cas is the best dad, Cas needs a day off, Castiel is Claire's father, Charlie Bradbury - Freeform, Dean - Freeform, Dean Winchester - Freeform, Destiel - Freeform, Drunk Gabriel, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Reluctant Cas, Supernatural - Freeform, Toddler Jack, bar hoping, cas, castiel - Freeform, castiel is jack's father, charlie - Freeform, destiel finally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-01 06:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15136913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie_Elizabeth/pseuds/Ellie_Elizabeth
Summary: Castiel finally decides to take a night out for himself, and never in a million years expected to meet a cute stranger with the greenest eyes he's ever seen.***The Destiel meeting you've all been waiting for(Can be ready as a stand alone, but I recommend you read the other two installments for more context)





	Hello, Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know this installment is like a month late but it's great so I hope that makes up for the wait.
> 
> Enjoy

“I’m telling you”, Gabe said, for what seemed like the millionth time that night. “If you don’t take some time off sooner or later, you’re eventually going to crash. Everyone needs breaks once and a while, and it’s not like anyone's going to blame you for wanting a night to yourself”

Castiel took a long sip from his beer, as he looked at his older brother from across the table. Gabriel was persistent, that was for sure; and he had just spent the last ten minutes trying to convince Cas to take a night off from the kids, and do something fun with him. “I understand that”, he tried to explain. “But they’re my children, and I would just feel selfish leaving them alone, even if it would be only for one night”

“It’s not like you’re dropping them at an orphanage and shouting _‘adios bitches’_ , “Gabe commented. “You’re letting dad watch them for a night so you can go party it up at some dumpy bar with me, and hopefully get laid”

Castiel let out one, highly exaggerated sigh, before taking another swig of his drink. “I’ve never left them alone overnight before. What if they wake up and not know where they are? Or what if Jack has one of his nightmares? Or what if-”

“Than dad will deal with it”, Gabe interrupted. “He did a damn fine job of raising us four kids all by himself, so I think he can handle your two gremlins for one night”

Having no counter argument, Castiel finished off his beer. He could distanty hear Michael playing with his twin daughters, Hannah and Hester, in the other room, and Jack asking Chuck a million different questions about his books in the kitchen. Claire had knocked out just before Gabriel had mentioned the night out, and was being put to bed in the guest room by Grace.

Family nights at his father's house was a new thing they had been trying recently, and had quickly became everyone's favourite night of the month. Where they all gathered at their childhood home, watched movies, and drank while their children ran around and got to play with each other.

“It’s not like they don’t know this place”, Gabriel said softly, understanding Castiel’s fear of leaving them alone. “And you and I both know that dad spoils those kids rotten, so I guarantee they’ll have the night of their life”

Castiel still remained silent as Gabe’s words sunk in. “Common pal, just you and me like old times sake. We can hit up a few dumpy bars, get kicked out of Walmart, and end the night in Mrs. Randsy tulip garden, just like we did in college”

Castiel laughed, remembering the night before Gabriels graduation, when he insisted they have one more crazy night together before the crushing reality of adulthood caught up to them. It hadn’t ended all that well as they were both drunkenly chased down the street by a pissed off old lady with a broom. Along the way they had both blacked out, but somehow still ended back up in Castiel dorm room, with his less than impressed roommate watching over them.

Gabe had been extremely hungover throughout the entire graduation ceremony, and to Castiel’s amusement, had almost tripped on his way up to receive his diploma. It was a story they told at every party and gathering they went to, and would sometimes spice up a few of the unimportant details to make it more exciting. It was on their top ten list of craziest experiences, right next to the time they broke into an abandoned amusement park.

“Ok”, Castiel finally said, setting his empty bottle aside. “Let's have a boys night, just the two of us, for old times sake”

Gabriel smiled evilly, and Cas couldn’t help but feel like he had made a terrible mistake. “There’s the Castiel we all know and love, now common, lets go talk to dad”

 

* * *

 

Exactly a week later, as Friday came to a close, Castiel found himself outside his father's house with two backpacks full of close and toys, and two corresponding children. Gabriel sat impatiently in the car, as Castiel told his father for the third time what to do incase Jack woke up from a nightmare.

“Never give him milk as it just makes him more hyper and more likely to pee the bed, if he asks for any drink give him a small cup of water. Also, if he does pee the bed he will get very upset and probably start crying and the best way to calm him down is to turn on Netflix to either Winnie The Pooh, or Curious George. He might also ask for a snack and I usually try to give him Cheez-its or Goldfish instead of fruit because fruit seems to make him more hyper and awake, but it is his favourite breakfast food-”

“Ok ok Cas”, Chuck finally said. “I really do think we’ll be ok”

Castiel hesitated for a moment, scared that he had forgotten about something major. “Just, feel free to call me in case anything happens or if you need me to come home early”

“We will be fine”, Chuck assured him for what seemed like the millionth time. “Now you were already suppose to leave twenty minutes ago, so don’t make your brother wait any longer”

“Ok… but-”

“ **Go** ”, Chuck half shouted, playfully nudging him off the patio. “Before you know it the night’s going to be over. It’s your one evening out so go have fun with it, and don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do”

“Ok fine”, Castiel finally surrendered. “Come give daddy a hug”, he called to Jack, as he ran from his grandfather's side to wrap his skinny arms around Cas’s neck.

“I love you”, he told the group once more, as he gave Claire a quick peck to the cheek. “Be good for grandpa”

The trio waved to him from the patio deck, as Castiel got into Gabriel’s red sports car and shut the door behind him. “Well it took you long enough”, his older brother teased. “For a second there I thought you were going to get out a pen and paper and start writing your own rendition of the Ten Commandments”

“Shut up”, Cas mumbled as he fiddled with the seat belt. As Gabe slowly back his car down the long driveway, Cas watch Jack and Claire be led into the house. He knew it wasn’t selfish to want a night to himself, but he couldn’t help but feel like he had betrayed them in some way. There was no doubt in his mind that Chuck would take great care of them, but that didn’t stop the dread that filled his stomach.

Soon they were on the road, and headed to their first stop of the night. Gabriel had refused to tell Cas about any of the place they were going, as he wanted all of them to be a ‘ _surprise_ ’, which scared Cas more than it excited him. The only thing Gabe had told him was that all the bars were walking distance from each other, so they wouldn’t have to worry about transportation.

They parked the car at Gabriel's small, two bedroom home, and started the short walk into town. Since Gabe spent a majority of his time at Chuck’s, Cas had rarely ever been to Gabriel’s real house. The only two times were to once help him build an entertainment center, and other to help him fix a rat problem he had in his attic. Both times had also been when he had first moved in, so it had been a good four years since the last time he was there.

“So”, Gabriel spoke at the walked the dimly lit path towards the towns center . “I decided that we should start out the night right and make the first bar we hit **The Salty Fish”**

“ _The Salty Fish_?” Castiel asked.

“Yep”, Gabriel responded as the towns lights came into view. “Best bar in a ten mile radius, and you better try their famous pickle cocktails”

The night had barely started, and yet somehow, Castiel knew it was going to be an interesting one.

 

* * *

 

“ **Come on Dean we’re going to be late** ”, Charlie called down to her slow roommate. “By the time we get there the place will be so full you won’t be able to fit a single asscheek onto the dance floor”

She heard slight laughter, as his loud footsteps echoed up the stairway. “Ok fine, let's go”, he said, sliding his arms through the sleeves of his signature leather jacket. “I would much prefer my entire ass to be on the dance floor, but I guess I’ll take what I can get”

Charlie laughed as she turned around to face her friend. “Seriously?”, she said, looking Dean over. “You’re wearing _that_ to a bar”

“What?”, he asked, looking over his outfit. “What’s wrong with it?”

“Well”, she said, adjusting the collar of the jacket. “You more scream ‘ _I am mysterious and cool stay away from me’_ instead of the ‘ _single and ready to mingle’_ look that we’re going for”

Dean sighed, as he re-popped the collar that Charlie had been trying so hard to flatten down. “I just don’t know if I’m ready for another relationship yet”, he admitted. “I know it’s been a few months, but it just feels weird to already be getting back into the dating scene”

Charlie surprised Dean by suddenly cupping her hands under his chin, and starring him directly in the eyes. “She left you Dean, it was zero percent your fault. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can move on, and the sooner you can be happy again”

Dean looked down, not meeting Charlies gaze. “I know it feels weird, but we’re not going out tonight to find you a hookup, we’re going out so we can drink, party, and forget about our problems for a few hours”

Dean chuckled, as Charlies hands left his face. “Well I guess I can drink to that, let's head out”

Charlie had picked the bar they were heading to that night, hoping to relieve some of the ever growing stress that was currently being piled onto Dean’s shoulders. From his brother Sam’s recent engagement, and his booming mechanic shop, he currently had a lot on his plate. Not to also mention his recent breakup with his long term girlfriend Lisa, which had almost complete shut Dean down for a few months. He deserved a night out, and Charlie was determined to make it great.

“The bar is a few towns over”, Charlie told him, as they sped down a country road in her small, yellow car. “So I called up my friend Benny who lives around there, and he’s cool with letting us crash at his place for the night. His only requirement is that we clean up any vomit we produce”

Dean was nowhere near as close to Benny as Charlie was, but he knew the guy from a few events and parties he had been to in the past. They had both been at Charlie’s graduation, when she finally received her high school diploma after dropping out a few years prior; and he was fairly certain that he had attended a few of the parties they had held in their shitty apartment, but other than that the guy was a complete stranger.

“Benny’s cool”, Charlie reassured him. “And besides, he has an original Nintendo 64, and we both know there is nothing better than drunk Mario Kart”

“Can’t argue with that”, Dean admitted. “I just hope that’s worth being kidnapped in my sleep”

With her eyes still on the road, Charlie leaned over to punch Dean in the shoulder, and the pair laughed as the lights of a town slowly came into view.  

 

* * *

 

After he had gone through a few bars, Castiel could confidently say he was a tad drunk. But unlike Gabriel, who had decided it would be a good idea to do shots with the pretty bartenders at ever joint they went to, he was still fairly coherent.

“Dude”, Gabriel slurred. “Just one more bar, I saved the best for last”

“You’re drunk off your ass”, Castiel commented, as he dragged his older brother to his feet for what seemed like the millionth time. “Any more drinks, and you might actually die of alcohol poisoning”

“ **Com’on** ”, Gabriel giggled, as he made sure to emphasize all of his words. “This last place is the best bar in the state, and it also has this reallyyyyy hot bartender. I think her name was Susie, or- Susanna, or maybe Sydney…   **I don’t really remember** , but I don’t think that’s important or anything-”

“Ok ok whatever”, Castiel said, just deciding to give into his brother’s stupid plans. “We’ll make this bar the last stop of the night, so where is it?”

By no surprise, Gabriel almost got the two of them lost an astonishing three times, but they eventually arrived at a nicer looking bar called _Hell's Point._

“I’ve never understood the name”, Gabe mumbled as they made their way to the door. “Why would you ever wanna name your bar after hell? It just doesn’t seem like that pleasant of a place, and if you name your business after it people might not wanna come because they associate it with a bad place”

“Gabriel, you’re my brother and I love you, but please just shut up”

Gabe pondered those words for a moment, before speaking up. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best”

The two of them entered the bar, and the smell of booze and sweat instantly washed over Cas. . It almost brought along a sense of familiarity, and  was strangely comforting. It reminded him that no matter what bar you go to, in whichever city, state, or country you choose, after ten pm, they will all have that exact smell.

He had come to this conclusion in his Junior year of college, as he had been trying to desperately wash the smell of alcohol out of his only hoodie before he had to get to his nine a.m. lecture. He had learned two lessons that day, number one being that washing your clothes in the communal bathroom sink will do you no good; and two, that no matter how much your life may change, bars will always smell like booze and sweat after ten p.m. And that is something that will always remain the same.

Gabriel let out a long and exaggerated gasp. “I think that's her”, he eagerally told his brother. “The cute bartender I was talking about”

Cas looked over to where his brother was blatentitly pointing, and noticed the rather attractive girl he had been mentioning. She was pretty and all, with the jeans and tee-shirt she was wearing showing off her rather impressive curves, but Castiel had made peace along time ago with the fact that he didn’t exactly swing that way.

“Go get her tiger”, Cas told his brother, after giving him rather hard pat on the back. The place was pretty jam packed, which wasn’t all that surprising as it was a friday night. Many people already occupied the neon dance floor, getting down and dirty to whatever shitty pop song was playing at the moment. It was almost strange being one of the only slightly sober ones, in a sea of drunks; it reminded Cas of watching animals in the wild.

At some point he managed to maneuver his way through the crowd and find an empty seat at the bar. He could see his brother on the other end, and he seemed to be doing pretty well with the bartender. She was pouring them both shots, and they seemed to be a pretty deep conversation. Another bartender, whos name tag read _Madison,_ eventually came up and asked him what he wanted.

“Just an old fashioned please, extra bitters”, he told her, and not a minute later he was slowly sipping his drink out of the fancy glass they had given him.

“How formal”, a deep voice next to him commented. “I would have never thought I’d see someone order a drink like that, in a place like this”

He looked over to see a man in a dark leather jacket, sipping at the generic looking beer in his hand. “What can I say”, Castiel said, as he could feel the alcohol coursing through his body. “I’m a classy guy”

The stranger laughed, and Castiel suddenly noticed how very green in his were. “I guess so”, he continued. “Now I just feel lame drinking my ordinary beer, maybe I’ll order some fancy vodka based drink. Ya know the ones that come with tiny umbrellas?”

Now it was Castiel’s turn to laugh. “I had a friend in college who always ordered one of those whenever he went out, and for some reason he kept every umbrella he ever got and displayed them all on the shelf over his bed. We all thought it was really strange, but I guess he’s a businessman or something”

“Hmm’, the stranger said, looking down at his half empty bottle. “One of my childhood best friends had an impressive knife collection, so I guess everyone has that one friend who just collects weird shit for the hell of it”   

Castiel nodded, and took a sip of his drink. “So what brings you here”, he awkwardly asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

“My roommate dragged me out here”, he said, his green eyes scanning the dance floor as though he was looking for someone. “I’ve kind of been in a slump recently, so she thought a night out on the town would do me some good”

“Well has it?”, Castiel cautiously asked.

“Ehh not really”, he said, finishing off his beer. “But getting to talk to you has been pretty nice”

Castiel was suddenly very happy that the bars lighting made it so this cute stranger couldn’t see the obvious blush that was rising to his cheeks. “W-Well, if it makes you feel any better, my brother dragged me here for practically the same reason”

“Really?”

“Yeah”, Castiel said, trying to forget the strangers previous comment. “He decided I was running myself dry or something, and literally had to force me out of the house. Now he’s over there drunk as a skunk, and hitting on some bartender”    

“Seems like both of our friends abandoned us”, he said, accepting another beer from the bartender. “My roommate Charlie meet this cute girl out on the dance floor, and I literally have not seen her since. I hope she’s ok”

“Well than”, Castiel said, raising up his glass. “Here’s to us, being abandoned by our friends at a bar”

“I can drink to that”, the stranger said, raising up his bottle to click it with Castiel’s. They both quickly finished off their drinks in silence, and noticed that the music seemed to get continually louder. It eventually got to a point where they couldn’t even hear each other talk, even though they were only three feet apart.

“ **Hey** ”, Castiel practically screamed, as the man threw a five dollar bill onto the counter. “ **Wanna take this outside?** ”

The man just shrugged, and without even thinking about what he was doing, Cas grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him toward the exit. This particular action seemed to have been subconsciously ingrained into his head, as it was exactly what he always did when he needed to get Jack out of a crowded room.  It wasn’t until they reached the door that Castiel realized what he was doing, and quickly dropped his hand.

As the two of them walked outside, a cool gust of wind hit them both straight in the face. The cold autumn weather was a huge step up from the humid climate of the bar, and Castiel hadn’t realized it until now, but he had gotten very sweaty.

“Peace and quiet”, the stranger said, dropping down onto the bench that was placed right next to the door. The beat of the music could faintly be heard through the thick wooden doors, along with the shouts of the bars occupants.

“Ya know”, Castiel commented, also sitting down onto the shady looking bench. “We’re kind of the losers right now”

“What do you mean?”, he laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with needing a little air, and besides, before you know it it’s going to get too cold to even go outside. Better enjoy it while we can”

Castiel couldn’t argue with that, and the pair ended up sitting in comfortable silence as the party continued on with out them. It was nice, with the steady beat resounding from inside the building, and the sound of leaves rustling as the midnight wind blew through them. It almost felt like they were in the center of the world, and got to observe as everything moved around them.

There was no thought of children, or lost relationships. Just the sound of night around them, and comforting presence of having someone to share it with.

“You know”, Castiel broke the silence. “I never asked you what your name is”

“I could say the same thing”, the unnamed stranger replied as he glanced over at Castiel and smiled.

“Castiel”, he announced, holding out his hand to the stranger next to him. They both went silent for a minute, and Castiel panicked for a second thinking he had overcrossed his boundaries.

“Dean”, the man finally replied, accepting his handshake.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Dean”, Cas smiled. “And I owe you a thanks for not making me look like the loser sitting alone outside a bar. I guess I just don’t have the same party energy that I used to have in college”

Dean chuckled and turned to look at Cas. “That makes two of us, maybe I’m just getting old”

“Aren’t we all”, Castiel whispered, look up at the night sky. He suddenly realized that it was completely covered in millions of stars, stretching all the way across the night sky. The alcohol in his system was finally started to dull down, and noticed how close he and Dean were really sitting. Dean’s hand was only centimeters away from his own, and something in the back of his head was screaming at him to grab it.

Before he could even think of doing anything, a very drunk Gabriel stumbled out the large oak doors, with a look of confusion mix with worry on his face. “ **Eyyy Cas** , I’ve been looking for you”, he slurred, looking relieved to have found him. “I think I may have pissed off one of the bartenders, so we should probably get going”

He heard Dean quietly chuckling next to him, and realized that was his cue to leave. He silently cursed Gabe for interrupting the one moment of the night that Castiel was actually enjoying, but reluctantly moved his hand away from Deans and got up to make sure his brother didn’t fall flat on his ass.

“It was really nice getting to meet you, Dean’, he told the former stranger, as he turned around to look at him.    

“Same to you”, he smirked, the outside lights illuminating his face nicely. “You’re not to bad for a class guy”

Castiel laughed, and Gabriel looked even more confused than before. Alcohol always had a way of making Cas more confident that he would usually be, and tonight was no exception. In a split second decision, he leaned Gabriel up against the stairs guardrail, and quickly walked back over to Dean.

“Here”, he told Dean, taking a pen out of his pocket and quickly scribbling some numbers down onto Deans palm. “This is my number, maybe you can call me or text me sometime?”

“I think I can do that”, Dean smiled, looking down at the numbers on his hand.

Gabriel looked like he was about to hurrle into the bushes that stood next to him, so Cas decided it was best he get him home. With one more wave to Dean, he threw Gabe’s arm over shoulder, and started the long walk home. The thought of his number on Dean’s hand never leaving his mind.

Dean also couldn’t get the numbers out of his mind, committing them to memory, and logging them into his phone the second Castiel was out of sight. He knew he should go back into the bar to find Charlie and hull her off to Benny’s house, but the surrounding air was still heavy with Cas’s presence, and he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

 

* * *

 

While Castiel’s hangover was nowhere close to the leaves of pain Gabriel was experiencing, he still couldn’t help but wince at the slight pounding that filled his head. The minute he woke up, all the previous nights memories seemed come back instantaneously; from drinking pickle juice at the Salty Fish, to meeting Dean at Hell's Point.

Their last stop of the night would have almost seemed like a dream, if it wasn’t for the text Castiel received early that next morning. He had been in Gabe’s bathroom, trying to brush the taste of alcohol out of his mouth, when he heard his phone go off in the other room. Quickly spitting the toothpaste out of his mouth, he went over to his phone expecting a text from his dad, siblings, or even one of his co-workers.

Instead he was greeted with an unknown number, and a simple text that read, ‘Hi, this is Dean’.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god this took so long to write I should a split it into two parts. 
> 
> I've been literally working on this for 5 days straight I hope you enjoyed.
> 
> Get excited for the next (shorter, hopefully) installment where Cas struggles to find a way to tell Dean that he has two kids.
> 
> Also leave any story prompts for future chapters down below, I am taking requests.


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